MCP server · Research
Paperboy MCP server
Find research papers, queue them in Zotero, and send the PDFs to your Kindle or Kobo.
Paperboy is a helper that connects your AI assistant to the world of research papers and your e-reader. You ask for papers on a topic, and it finds them, keeps track of what you want to read, and sends the PDFs to your Kindle or Kobo. It is handy if you read papers for work or study and want them waiting on your device instead of downloading them one by one.
What is an MCP server? The 30-second version
On its own, your AI can only chat with you. An MCP server is a small helper program that gives your AI a new skill or a connection to an app or service. Paperboy is that helper here: it connects your AI to paper search services, your Zotero library, and your e-reader. So when you ask for papers, the AI can actually go find them and send them to your device for you.
What this MCP server does
You ask your AI for papers on a topic, or hand it a reading list you already have. The AI uses paperboy to search services like arXiv and OpenAlex, and paperboy brings back matches with links to free PDFs where they exist. If you want, it adds those papers to a Reading Queue in your Zotero library, so you have a tidy list. Then you say send them to my Kindle, and paperboy emails the PDFs to your device or uploads them to Dropbox for a Kobo. It also remembers which papers it already sent, so it does not send the same one twice.
Click to zoomWhat you can do with it
- Search for papers by topic, arXiv id, DOI, or title
- Get suggestions for related papers based on your Zotero library
- Queue papers in a Reading Queue collection in Zotero
- Send one paper or your whole queue to your Kindle or Kobo
- File papers into topical collections in Zotero
- Catalogue books by ISBN, book DOI, or title
- Attach a PDF you already have and send it to your e-reader
Try asking your AI
- “Find recent papers on sleep and memory and queue them for me”
- “Send these three papers to my Kindle”
- “What is in my reading queue right now”
- “Recommend papers related to what is in my Zotero library”
What it gives back to you
You get back a list of papers with titles, authors, and a note about whether a free PDF is available. When you send papers, you get a short receipt telling you what went to your device and what could not be sent, with a reason. If you ask about your queue, you get the list with a status for each item, like unsent or sent. Filing and cataloguing actions come back as simple confirmations of what changed in Zotero.
Before you start
What you need
- A Kindle, PocketBook, or Kobo e-reader
- Your e-reader email address (Kindle and PocketBook) or a Dropbox app (Kobo)
- An app password for your email account, used to send the files
- A Zotero account and API key if you want the reading queue and duplicate protection
Good to know
If you share a remote deployment, the token lets the other person send email as you and read or edit your Zotero library, so only share it with someone you trust.
Install it with your AI
Add Paperboy MCP server to your AI, no technical skills needed
You don't install anything by hand. You copy one prompt, paste it into an AI that can work on your computer, and it checks, installs and connects the server for you, asking you when it needs something.
Sign in to get the install prompt
Members get a ready-made prompt that lets the Claude desktop app check Paperboy MCP server, install it and connect it for them, step by step. You don't need any technical skills: you copy, paste and answer a few questions. Your connected AI can also find and install any of the 4,066 MCP servers here for you.
Who it's for
Researchers, students, and anyone who reads a lot of papers and wants them delivered to an e-reader without the manual downloading.
